More Weight Loss Motivation

So as you all know I am on a journey trying to drop some serious weight. The biggest motivation for me is reading stories and looking at pictures of real everyday people who have lost weight. It makes me think that if they can do it I can too. So I am sharing another motivating story. This one comes from Cameron's wife Bethany aka my sister-in-law. I watched her and Cameron work their a$$es off for months, through the holidays they skipped out on most of the yummy food and I would think to myself "I'd rather be fat than miss out on everything." Well here we are five months later and now I'm thinking " I'd give my left boob to have her body". Okay maybe not my left boob because then I would be skinny but missing one boob, but for sure a toe or two. Yep, wonder what I would look like if I had been as dedicated as her. Hope this helps all of you out there trying to drop some weight but thinking you just can't do it. It has definitely helped me. Thanks for sharing your story Beth!

I was sadly naive from a young age thinking I would never have to worry about weight loss. I grew up in a home with mostly healthy food (no sugary cereals, no soda, very little junk food, etc.) and we rarely ate out. It seemed no matter where we lived (Winslow, Phoenix, Flagstaff), I was always playing outside and I was always in some sort of sport. I actually remember when we had our body fat tested in P.E. in high school, I was the lowest in my class. Then I moved out. I gained the "freshman 15" (or maybe 30 for me...;)) and reality hit like me like a truck! I actually DID have to pay attention to what I ate! Up to that point it had just been done for me. When I came home from my mission to the Dominican Republic, I looked great! That's because I literally walked all day long, every day in the heat! Plus, in my last area I made a point to work out every morning. Shortly after Cameron and I were married I started putting on a few extra pounds. Not too much to worry about (I thought). Then I got pregnant with Haylee. Oh man...I was a big girl!! After I had her I was still big! When she was about 7 months old, I watched my first triathlon. We were in Rocky Point, Mexico with our friends Eric and Kami. Eric was doing the triathlon there. I saw people way bigger and older than me participating in the race. That day I set a goal to do a triathlon. I had some knee issues that I needed to work out before I could really start training--I might add that the knee issues, I believe, were from carrying around too much weight because they got better when I lost weight. I'll be honest and admit that I began taking phentermine. It was wonderful! I had no appetite or cravings and I had TONS of energy! But as with almost every drug, there are side effects. I had a hard time sleeping and I was incredibly irritable (not something I needed help with--I had that covered on my own!!). Even while taking the phentermine, I knew I was "cheating". I made poor food choices thinking that because I was eating so little, I could eat anything I wanted. I wish I would have tested my body fat at that point. I've learned firsthand that skinny does not always equal healthy. I got to a certain point on phentermine and couldn't lose anymore. During that time Cameron and I began doing triathlons. I am very proud to say that I completed four triathlons! I accomplished my goal! About a month after my last triathlon I got pregnant with Jori. It's interesting that with the second pregnancy I carried completely different. I only gained weight in my belly. With Haylee I gained it EVERYWHERE! Then when Jori was born, I lost quite a bit of weight really quick. It's like my body just knew what to do. Even still, I had more weight to lose. Cameron and I began working with our nutritionist in October, three months after Jori was born. I weighed 171 lbs when we began. Unlike taking phentermine, I lost weight and did it the healthy way. Our nutritionist educated us about what certain foods do to our bodies. There was no salt or sugar allowed. It was all lean meats, vegetables, good carbs (potatoes, brown rice, quinoa). I'm not going to lie, it was EXTREMELY tough. Being a stay-at-home-mom was even harder because I still had snacks for Haylee in the pantry that were off limits to me. The temptations were unreal! Especially through the holidays. I moaned and complained for about the first two months! Poor Cameron! He was a great teammate though--he was so supportive and motivating. I couldn't ask for a better husband and partner in weight loss. We have both talked extensively about how hard (almost impossible) it would have been for us to do without the other one. The huge benefit (besides the weight loss), is how much it strengthened our relationship. I believe anything you do together as a couple, especially hard things, makes you a stronger team. We had to cheer each other on and motivate each other constantly. We had to remove the temptations from each other. I have now lost 41 pounds. I went from a size 12 to a size 6 (a size I haven't been since high school) and from XL shirts to medium. Working with our nutritionist created a lifestyle change in our home. Ninety percent of our meals will continue to be along the guidelines our nutritionist gave us. Yes, we will "splurge" every now and then, but a splurge now is frozen yogurt as opposed to a Dairy Queen Blizzard!! There are foods we missed terribly while we were on our strict meal plan that we can't even imagine eating again. We just understand so much more. I have taken away a few lessons from my weight loss experience. The top one is being healthy ABSOLUTELY has to be a priority in your life. Nothing else in your life works if your body doesn't! Cameron and I are now "that couple" that only stay in hotels with gym access and the gym is our top priority every day. If the laundry doesn't get done, oh well. Our gym time is sacred to us! As parents, we have a bigger responsibility to our children. We create their lifestyle. I was lucky to grow up in an overall "healthy home". I know how to recreate that now. And that is my goal. I want my children to be active. Part of our recent move was to provide a backyard that our girls can play in. We all know kids do what they see their parents do. It's important to us that our girls to see us exercising daily and eating healthy food. As a mom of girls, of course I worry about body image, eating disorders, etc. That's why my goal is to never have them be an issue. I refuse to talk about being "skinny" or "looking good" to my girls. Instead, I will talk about being healthy, having energy, setting goals. Whenever we give Haylee food we try to talk about why that food is good for our body (carrots--eyesight, bell peppers--vitamin C, etc.). I am completely, 100% converted to our new way of life! I try to talk to everyone about it! I am so much happier now. I love to get dressed every day, I love to go shopping, I love that I know what I'm doing when I'm at the gym. I wish everyone would do what we've done. It's possible and the payoff is amazing!

Bethany at the beginning of her journey.

Bethany her hot self today!